>> david: tonight breaking news as we come on the air in the west. former president trump indicted tonight, four counts. in new york city the suspected serial killer in court and what the wife is now saying. "world news tonight" starts now. >> announcer: from abc news world headquarters in new york, this is "world news tonight" with david muir. >> david: good evening. great to have you with us on a tuesday night. many of you have been with us all along. and we do begin with this major

development in the special counsel's investigation of former president donald trump. a federal grand jury has now criminally indicted the former president out of the special counsel's investigation into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. the 45-page indictment begins by saying the former president lost the 2020 election, knew he lost, and then for months spread lies that there had been outcome determinative fraud in the election. and that he had actually won it. the indictment charges trump with four counts. conspiracy to defraud the u.s., conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction in an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. the indictment laying out a detailed timeline, and state-by-state efforts to appoint illegal electors and influence local officials to change the outcome in their states. and it also lists six unnamed co-conspirators. the indictment alleges trump attempted to enlist vice president mike pence to obstruct the certification of the election results, and that the violent attack on the capitol on

january 6th was fueled by lies. and as you heard jack smith say right here moments ago, lies by the defendant. special counsel jack smith making that rare appearance before the cameras, calling the attack on our nation's capitol on january 6th an unprecedented assault on the seat of american democracy. the former president has been asked to appear in federal court thursday at 4:00 p.m. to be arraigned on these charges. our team standing by, including our reporter who just talked with the former president. his reaction here in a moment. but we begin with our chief justice correspondent pierre thomas tonight. >> reporter: tonight, donald trump, former president of the united states, indicted for allegedly trying to subvert democracy and overturn the will of american voters in the 2020 election because he was determined to remain in power. >> today, an indictment was unsealed charging donald j. trump with conspiring to defraud the united states, conspiring to disenfranchise voters, and conspiring and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding. >> reporter: trump informed of

the sweeping indictment just before it was unsealed. the charges outlined in the sweeping indictment. prosecutors say trump spread lies that there had been outcome determinative fraud in the election, and that he had actually won. these claims were false, and the defendant knew they were false. still, they say, trump worked to create an intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger, and erode public faith in the administration of the election. the indictment going methodically, state-by-state, accusing trump and his unnamed co-conspirators of creating fraudulent slates of electors in seven states. of trying to compel the justice department to sham election crime investigations. of pressuring vice president mike pence to reject legitimate electoral votes on january 6th. and ultimately, sending his supporters to the capitol to obstruct the certification proceeding and exert pressure on the vice president. >> we're going to walk down to the capitol. and we fight. we fight like hell.

and if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore. >> reporter: smith's indictment documenting dozens of trump's lies, the pressure he put on republican state officials. in a phone call, trump pushing georgia secretary of state brad raffensperger to find the votes he needed. >> so, look, all i want to do is this, i just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state. >> reporter: prosecutors allege trump's criminal scheme culminated on january 6th, in what they call the president's exploitation of the violence and chaos at the capitol. >> david: pierre thomas leading us off here. and before i bring in pierre, i just want to read from the first paragraph of this 45-page indictment. despite having lost, jack smith writes of the defendant, donald trump, was determined to remain in power. so, for more than two months following election day on

november 3rd, 2020, the defendant spread lies there had been outcome determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won. these claims were false, and the defendant knew that they were false, but the defendant repeated it anyway. let's bring in pierre thomas. pierre, a key part of this, along with the rest of our team, a key part of this is this notion jack smith and the team will in prosecuting the former president make the case that he knew he had lost the election. >> he had every reason to understand that he lost. he was informed repeatedly, david, that there was no wide-scale fraud, that there was no way that he could win the election. and then the special counsel's making the case that he went to the public with that lie and tried to steal the election. >> david: and in this speaking indictment, if you will, in lay terms, it's just basically laid out so all of us can read it and understand it, everybody across this country, he makes the case that a number of people who were very close to the president, trusted advisers to the president, told him repeatedly, we've lost this election. >> the attorney general, homeland security officials, his

own white house counsel, all these people were telling him, you lost, mr. president. >> david: pierre thomas leading us off. i want to bring in our chief washington correspondent jonathan karl. because jon, one of the questions going into whether or not jack smith would indict in this particular case, because by far, this is the most serious case any former president has ever faced, would be whether or not they would present evidence directly linking donald trump to these conversations to this actual alleged conspiracy, and it's in the indictment. >> there are six co-conspirators here, but donald trump is at the center of this. he spearheaded this effort to overturn the election, including the gathering of those fake electors to create confusion on january 6th. but david, the big picture here, donald trump faces legal challenges all over the place. we have new york. we have civil cases. we have georgia coming. we have the documents case. nothing is anywhere near as serious as this. the allegation here, one of the counts, depravation of rights.

what rights? the right of american citizens to have their votes count. he tried to overturn an election illegally, an election that he knew he had lost. and as for the question of a speedy trial, jack smith wanted to see a speedy trial, one of the questions i think coming today is, actually, what took so long? we are, you know, two plus years after what happened on january 6th, and now, he is finally being held to account legally for it. >> david: and you talk about the timeline. let's ask katherine faulders, our senior reporter with the investigative unit here, just how soon the american people will begin to see this play out. you learned, katherine, that we'll see the former president first answer to these charges on thursday? >> reporter: that's right. the former president will appear here in a d.c. federal court thursday at 4:00 p.m. eastern. now, david, this is federal court. there are no cameras allowed in court. he could remain completely out of view. but if this process is to go how it is typically supposed to go, he will appear here at 4:00

p.m. he will be processed. he's able to be processed inside this courthouse, if that's something that will happen. we expect that it will. and he will be accompanied by, we're expecting, two of his attorneys. but again, david, 4:00 p.m. eastern at this courthouse, the former president set to appear. >> david: we'll see the former president on thursday in washington where this case will now play out. katherine faulders, our thanks to you. i mentioned off the top of the broadcast tonight that our team just spoke with donald trump moments before we came on the air tonight. let's bring in john santucci who has covered donald trump the candidate, the president, and now the candidate again. john, what was his reaction? >> david, i just hung up the phone with donald trump moments ago. he called news of this latest indictment pile on, david. he said, yet again, this is election interference. and when i asked him about all of the mounting charges against him, we mentioned manhattan, documents, and now this case, he called all of the charges, david, ridiculous. i then said to donald trump, you know, how does this move forward? where do you go from here? donald trump telling me tonight, david, we will fight, and we will win.

but david, i have to tell you, all throughout this afternoon, hearing from former white house aides to donald trump, they all believe this was avoidable. david? >> david: john santucci with us here. john, thank you. i want to bring until our chief legal analyst. two questions for you, dan abrams. first of all, this is what we would expect from donald trump, the public facing, to say this is pile on. it will be part of the political message moving forward. surely his legal team understands the weight of this. and if you were -- listen, this classified documents case is a heavy case in and of itself, but this case is far more serious. >> yeah, it's far more serious based on the facts, based on the allegations, and based on the law. i mean, yes, the documents case is at its heart an obstruction of justice case, which is serious stuff, but here, you're talking about the fundamental functioning of our democracy. and donald trump's effort, according to the special counsel, to undermine that. i will say, though, that there are maybe more legal defenses

that he may have here than in the documents case. so, while this one may be more serious, it is also likely that he'll have more legal avenues to defend himself by saying he believed it. he still believes it. he thinks they engaged in wrongdoing. he believes there was voter fraud, et cetera. >> david: and this will be more difficult to prosecute. the same is true, if you flip it for prosecutors in the classified documents case. in the meantime, we know the judge who has been appointed. i was so curious about this. i asked you before we came on the air tonight. this is done as random, and we were trying to figure out exactly how they do it. they have an automated system in the d.c. federal court. >> right, just lack of the draw, basically, as to how this judge. and for donald trump, probably not great luck, right, in terms of who the judge was. the judge's name is tanya chutkan. she was appointed by president obama. and maybe most importantly, she has been one of the judges in this district who has meted out some of the toughest sentences on the january 6th defendants. this is one of the many judges

in washington, d.c. who has dealt with january 6th cases. this isn't the judge that donald trump would want. but again, most important issue right now, with regard to the judge, is the timing. is the judge going to force this case to trial before the election? >> david: and of course, we should also point out that every judge in washington, d.c. and federal court has now dealt with at least one of these january 6th cases involving a rioter or someone related to january 6th. >> right. so, they all have some level of experience. four of the judges appointed by republicans, nine by democrats. it just happened that this was the judge appointed to this case. >> david: and the republican-appointed judges have handed down some serious sentences, as well. >> exactly. it wouldn't have been a fundamental difference in terms of who the judge is, when the question is, what evidence is going to come in, it's all going to come down to the timing. >> david: just a few seconds left in our coverage of this federal indictment. mary bruce, our chief white house correspondent with us, as well. mary, any reaction specifically from the white house? >> no. the white house is instead referring all questions to the justice department, stressing

that it conducts its investigations independently. this president is not commenting on donald trump's legal woes, these indictments, because he is well aware that donald trump and his allies are trying to argue that this is all a weaponization of the justice department. the president doesn't want to say anything that they could use to fuel that argument. that argument, which is now at the center of donald trump's re-election campaign and an argument that we have seen only lead his support to grow. donald trump is the overwhelming front-runner and, despite all of his legal challenges, despite these indictments, his supporters, david, so far based on polling, aren't going anywhere. >> david: front-runner on the republican side. leading ron desantis by 37 points or more. and in a general election match-up, as we sit here tonight, "the new york times"/siena poll just out today, puts joe biden and donald trump even, 43-43. >> a very tight head-to-head matchup, that looks to be where we're headed, david. >> david: mary bruce with us tonight. dan abrams, jon karl, pierre thomas. thank you. we'll have much more later tonight on "nightline" and of course, first thing in the morning on "gma." thank you, all.

in the meantime, we move onto the other headlines on this tuesday evening. accused long island serial killer rex heuermann appearing in court today. it comes as his estranged wife tells abc news she and her children cried themselves to sleep. and she is sharing photos of the destruction she says investigators made of their home. abc's erielle reshef in new york tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the first glimpse of suspected gilgo beach serial killer rex heuermann in court since the new york architect pleaded not guilty to the murders of three women. >> this is a 13-year case. so, as you saw, we have a great deal of information. >> reporter: prosecutors turning over more than 2,500 pages of documents and evidence to the defense. heuermann's attorney saying his client maintains his innocence. >> he said from the moment i met him that, i did not do this. so, we're prepared to go forward. we will defend this case in a court of law. >> reporter: heuermann's estranged wife, asa ellerup, who has filed for divorce, seen here

today at the long island home they shared, describing how her family's life has been upended, telling abc news, my children have been crying themselves to sleep. and i've been crying myself to sleep, too. ellerup sharing these photos of the aftermath of investigators' week-long search of their property. boxes piled up. a bathtub sliced open. >> does she plan to stay in that home? >> right now that's the only place she has to reside with her and her children. she's not employed. the daughter works for her dad. so, there's been no financial income. >> reporter: police say ellerup is not a suspect and was unaware of her husband's alleged crime spree. >> has she spoken to rex since he was arrested? >> i believe she has, but not about the incident -- or not about the arrest. >> do you know what that conversation was like? >> i do not know. >> reporter: david, several of the victims' families were inside that hearing today, coming face-to-face with heuermann for the first time. he's due in court again next month. david? >> david: erielle reshef here with us tonight. erielle, thank you. there is word tonight that

north korea has responded to the american-led u.n. outreach about the u.s. soldier who crossed the border on his own two weeks ago now. let's bring in our chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz with us live tonight. martha, what have you learned? >> reporter: david, the contact was through the u.n. command, not the u.s. directly. the north koreans acknowledging they have travis king and saying they are investigating the matter. of course, what makes this case so unusual and so complicated is that travis king bolted across that border on his own on purpose after leaving the airport in seoul where he was supposed to head back to the u.s. to face charges from the army. i am told he has already been interrogated by the north koreans. but given this is the first time the north koreans have responded to the u.n., this may be a sign that north korea is willing to negotiate his release, although nothing moves quickly in negotiations with the north koreans. david? >> david: as we all know well. martha raddatz tonight. martha, thank you. we turn now to the war in

ukraine and what appears tonight to be a new phase of the war. drones striking the heart of moscow for the fourth time in just over a week now. one high-rise building struck twice in just three days. tonight, ukraine not taking responsibility, but saying that moscow is now getting used to a full-fledged war. here's our chief foreign correspondent ian pannell in ukraine again tonight. >> reporter: tonight, a drone slamming into the exact same skyscraper housing government offices in moscow that was struck just three days ago. the kremlin again accusing ukraine for the fourth drone attack on the russian capital in just over a week. an adviser to president zelenskyy not confirming, but saying, moscow is rapidly getting used to a full-fledged war. and the russians appear rattled, warning of a massive increase in strikes on ukraine in retaliation. overnight, at least five attack drones launched towards this city, kharkiv. one hitting a dormitory for students. luckily, no one there at the time.

and to the south in kherson, this medical facility also coming under attack, an operating room destroyed. officials say a doctor, on his first day at work, was killed. david, it really does appear that we're now in a new phase of this war, not just a battle on the land inside ukraine, but also an escalating aerial conflict with drones front and center that's now hitting right into the heart of russia. david? >> david: ian pannell in ukraine tonight. ian, thank you. when we come back here, there is breaking news here in new york city at this hour. we are just learning of an out of control vehicle slamming into pedestrians in midtown manhattan. we have learned of several people injured at this point. our reporter standing by on the scene. i'm kareem abdul jabbar. i was diagnosed with afib. the first inkling that something was wrong was i started to notice that i couldn't do things without losing my breath. i couldn't make it through the airport, and every like 20 or 30 yards i had to sit down and get my breath. every physical exertion seemed to exhaust me.

and finally, i went to the hospital where i was diagnosed with afib. when i first noticed symptoms, which kept coming and going, i should have gone to the doctor and told them what was happening. instead, i tried to let it pass. if you experience irregular heartbeat, heart racing, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, or light-headedness, you should talk to your doctor. afib increases the risk of stroke about 5 times i want my experience to help others understand the symptoms of atrial fibrillation. when it comes to your health, this is no time to wait.

how white do you think your teeth really are? let's try the tissue test. ooof, still yellow. whitening toothpaste can only do so much. there's toothpaste white, and there's crest 3d whitestrips white. so much whiter! crest. (tonya) because i smoked, i have heart failure. i went from me being their caregiver to the husband and kids being mine. (announcer) the people you love are worth quitting for. you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit-now. here in new york city tonight there is news just coming in. several pedestrians struck by an out of control vehicle on 42nd street on the east side of manhattan. first responders racing to the scene. several people hurt. veteran reporter lucy yang from

our new york station wabc at the scene tonight. and, lucy, what have you learned? >> reporter: well, david, we're on 42nd street and lexington avenue. this is the heart of midtown. it was 5:30 tuesday evening, the height of evening rush hour, sidewalks and crosswalks crowded with pedestrians trying to get home. that's when this accident struck. we have three vehicles involved here. police are still trying to put together the play-by-play. but this we know, ten were taken to a nearby hospital for nonlife-threatening injuries. a large radius around here, the traffic is a mess in all directions. but thankfully, no lives were lost in this accident, which left ten people injured and three vehicles involved. david? >> david: it is always a fear here in manhattan. lucy yang from wabc tonight. lucy, thank you, to you and the team. when we come back here tonight, the story that made national headlines, and now, today, the tearful suspect

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ask your doctor about dupixent. to the index of other news, and an emotional hearing for the suspect from a deadly that killed a bride and seriously injured the groom on the night of their wedding. prosecutors asking to keep her behind bars. >> state would ask for no bond in this case. >> david: jamie lee komoroski appearing by video from jail. she was denied bail. her trial now set for march. she's been in custody since the april crash. the judge saying komoroski is a flight risk. komoroski says the whole thing was a terrible accident. we turn to the dangerous heat tonight and the excessive heat now targeting 55 million americans, on alert with heat warnings and advisories from texas to kansas, over east to florida. the heat index soaring past 110 degrees across several states. record highs expected in some major cities. and potential storms tonight. a severe weather risk for parts of the rockies and the plains. damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes all possible.

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from all of us here, good night. >> donald trump indicted for a third time, tonight, local reaction on how this will affect his rent to become president. and what we have learned about the investigation into this huge fire which destroyed something san francisco badly needs. plus, rv parking versus pedestrian safety. you hear from those in the middle of this battle. >> from abc 7, live breaking news. >> all of these indictments have been pretty influential and historical, but this is the first one that focuses on his time as president. so it's quite a compelling indictment. at least compared to the previous two, in my masturbation. -- estimation. dan: thank you so much for joining us, this is the third indictment against donald trump because of his action

surrounding the january 6. last month he was -- insurrection. he was indicted over classified materials found in ballrooms and bathrooms in his resort. in april, his first indictment was on state charges of falsify business records in connection with a hush-money payments made two adult film actress stormy daniels. ama: today's indictment came after a grand jury spent months hearing evidence related to alleged efforts by trump and others to overturn the 2020 election results and his actions surrounding the january 6 capitol attack. dan: justin finch has the latest of elements from washington. >> former president donald trump has been informed that he has been indicted by a federal grand jury regarding the special councils pro into trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. sources tell us indictment is listing for criminal counts,